Lost Dreams
by Melly1
Summary: (Originally Melindas)**STORY COMPLETE!!!!**Piper and Leo always dreamed of having a little girl. But having a baby is hard, especially when you're supernaturally gifted.
1. Dreams

Piper looked out the window in her bedroom. She really wasn't looking at anything, she was just thinking. Thinking about how just three days ago she was just a normal girl. Okay well not totally normal, but close enough if you didn't count the whole 'I'm a witch that saves innocents' thing. Yet now she was different. In a matter of minutes, two to be exact, her life had changed..now she was going to be a mother.  
  
* * *  
  
Piper began to run faster and faster and faster while still hearing that voice off in the distance saying MELINDA WILL DIE!!!!! NO, NO, how can she die??? She hasn't done anything. She's just a baby and she isn't even in this world yet!!! She hasn't been able to experience the joy in life. I want my daughter to see that. Her father wants her to see that!!!! You can't!! I won't let you take her!!!  
  
Suddenly, Piper awoke, dripping in sweat and wondering whether or not what she had heard was true, was her baby, who she now knew was a girl named Melinda, going to die????  
  
"Piper, sweety, are you okay? Snap out of it talk to me!!" Leo said with a worried look on his face  
  
"Oh don't worry everything is fine." Piper said quickly for Leo still didn't know about Melinda and she wasn't about to tell him what she had heard either. She, herself, was still trying to figure it out.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning it was as if nothing had ever happened, except it had and Piper just couldn't seem to focus on anything else except on how to protect her unborn child. So, finally after a long time of thought, Piper got up the courage with renewed faith in her destiny to tell her husband about the baby.their baby, which she did not let Leo know about till she thought the time was right-safe! But now.  
  
"Leo, honey may I speak to you?" Piper yelled from upstairs  
  
"Coming!!" Leo yelled back  
  
When Leo came in he found Piper sitting on her bed her legs folded, cuddling a small box in her lap.  
  
"What's that?" he asked out of curiosity  
  
"Oh, it's a little gift for you."  
  
When Leo opened the envelope he found a little card that had a little baby on the front, inside it read: Sharing with you the gift of life and the best of luck as a new father! At first Leo looked puzzled and when he looked at Piper with a questioning look on his face she pointed towards the box and told him to open it. When he did he found inside a pregnancy test that read positive. Suddenly, Leo became overjoyed and his head danced with the images of his little son or daughter wrapped tightly in his arms. He was so overwhelmed in fact that he almost forgot his wife who at this point was very happy to see the positive reaction on her husband's face.  
  
"Piper, honey, this is wonderful how far along are you? Is it a boy? A girl?"  
  
"Well, actually I'm 2 months and 10 days and the stars tell me it's a girl."  
  
"Oh my God,that's great!!!!! Do your sisters know?"  
  
"No, I wanted to tell you before I told them."  
  
At that moment both Phoebe and Paige were walking by Piper's room.  
  
"Tell us what?" they asked in unison.  
  
"Piper's pregnant!!!!!" Leo blurted out.  
  
"That's great!!!! WOW!!!! We're going to be aunts!!!!!! I'm going to have a niece!!! Oh wait, is it girl?" Phoebe excitedly said.  
  
"Yes it is and yes you both are going to be aunts!!!!" Piper said joyfully.  
  
The rest of the day was spent discussing names since Piper had not yet shared with them the secret that heaven had named her Melinda, room arrangements, doctor visits, early wake up calls, diapers and babies, babies, babies!!!!!!!!!!!! So much was said and discussed that Piper almost forgot about her dream. But, when it came back to her mind and she felt like she could tell her family, she didn't. She just had to take one look at their happy faces to tell that she would be making a huge mistake if she dropped this HUGE news on them at such a happy moment. So, she told herself that she would let them know the next day. And she kept telling herself this day after day for 5 months.  
  
Then one day as she was walking through Babies 'R' Us with Phoebe she finally decided to do it. She just kept telling herself that she was already 7 months pregnant and that she still hadn't told anyone and the dream hadn't only happened once but more like once a week since the day she found out she was pregnant. So once they got home she called together a family meeting.  
  
"Hey! What's up? Something wrong? You look like a wreck!!" Paige said.  
  
"Well, actually there is something I need to tell you all. " and she did she told them all what she had dreamt and that that was the reason she was always getting up in the middle of the night for unexplained reasons.  
  
"So wait, you're trying to tell me that our daughter, is in danger???" Leo asked nervously.  
  
"Yes, pretty much." Piper said.  
  
"Then I have to go to the Elders right now and tell them they cannot allow this to happen!!! I bet it was the Source it had to have been. I mean why else would someone hurt Melinda!!! Yeah, that's it that's why so I better tell the Elders we know who's doing this right? They need to know!! Maybe in the mean time you can just, you know, like make a potion and then like, you know, maybe, Piper could with, um, yeah, um.."  
  
"LEO!!!!!!" Piper screamed aggravated.  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
"Leo, you need to relax, breathe, everything will be all right, we'll figure this out and take it from there okay."  
  
"Okay fine, but at least let me go tell the Elders and see what they say."  
  
"You go do that but remember.relax."  
  
"So, what do we do now?" Phoebe asked as Leo orbed out.  
  
"No clue!!!!" Paige answered.  
  
"Well, how about we check out the Book Of Shadows and see what we can find. I mean it's worth a shot right?" Piper said while trying to remain calm since she was beginning to notice that no one was.  
  
So, they made their way up to the attic. Once there they began to search for anything that may have to do with Piper's dreams. Then suddenly Leo orbed in with a very sad and depressing look on his face.  
  
"What? What's the matter?" Piper asked become worried herself now.  
  
"Well, the Elders informed me that the Source wants to try to get Melinda to join evil, but since he already knows that I'm a whitelighter and that the chance that she chooses evil over good are slim he's been attempting for 7 months now to get Melinda to die or to be poisoned with evil before she's born."  
  
"Wait, but how does he do that??? I mean Piper hasn't been near him in over 7 months so how does he 'poison' Melinda?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"That's exactly why Piper only dreams this instead of actually living it. Through her dreams he can attempt to do this. It's been a very difficult process for him though since it's very hard to enter someone's head let alone from another plain! Yet, since it's been 7 months he's also pretty positive that Melinda has been affected one way or another."  
  
"Really?" Piper asked very concerned as she began to rub her tummy where she hoped that a safe, healthy and good natured baby lay.  
  
"The Elders are not sure. They say that there could be a good chance that Melinda hasn't been affected and that you guys may be able to find a way to prevent it from happening."  
  
"But how?" Paige asked.  
  
"Well, there are protection spells in the book and well Phoebe knows a thing or two about potions. In the mean time though I got to take Piper with me." 


	2. Whitelighter Hospital

"With you? Where?" asked Piper.  
  
"In order to find out whether Melinda is evil yet or not I have to take you up there to this great doctor who helps witches when it's something a bit bigger then the usual, like this, he's also a good friend of mine. He knows what he's doing."  
  
"What is it like 'Whitelighter Hospital'?" Paige said  
  
"Sort of. Well shall we Piper."  
  
"Lead the way. See you guys later and we're counting on you to have found something."  
  
Once 'up there' Piper began to feel a cold chill run up and down her spine. Her heart began to beat faster and she felt a horrible pain in her womb. Since she hadn't discovered what labor pains were like yet, she automatically thought that she must be having them and began to yell out to Leo that she was having the baby. Of course Leo believed her and rushed her over to 'Whitelighter Hospital.' By the time they got there Piper was ready to pass out and Leo was more worried then the rabbit from Alice In Wonderland.  
  
"What seems to be the problem?" Dr. Kramer asked.  
  
"I'm in labor!!!!" Piper yelled  
  
" No you're not let me take a look."  
  
Once he was done examining her it was concluded that in fact she was not in labor, but the reason that she had experienced those pains were because Melinda had a slight hint of evil in her and it wasn't reacting well to being in a place of good. Dr. Kramer suggested that Piper and Leo should go back and try to rest to allow Phoebe and Paige some time to search for the ingredients for a potion, not to mention the potion itself. So they did as the doctor said, not without letting Phoebe and Paige know the news first though and an hour later Phoebe and Paige entered, potion in hand.  
  
"I'm not ready." Piper nervously whispered since she was still very exhausted from all that had happened in the last couple hours.  
  
"Well, we have to do it. It's now or never."  
  
"How about never."  
  
"PIPER!!!!!" Paige and Phoebe said in unison.  
  
"Okay do it, just get it over with."  
  
So Paige uncorked the bottle and threw the liquid onto Piper womb where it was to stay for 2 minutes. Two minutes later everyone seem to have settled down and were much more relaxed.  
  
"So, how do we know if it worked?" Phoebe asked.  
  
"We have to go up to see Dr. Kramer again." Leo said.  
  
"Oh no!! No way am I going back up there!! I have no more strength to even get out of bed, let alone have my body torn to pieces due to the excruciating pain I got last time I went up there!!!! No way!!!!!" Piper yelled.  
  
So after a couple minutes of a heated argument Leo finally convinced Piper to go up there and see Dr. Kramer. When Dr. Kramer examined her he found that Melinda seemed to be fine but no one would really know for sure until the baby was born. 


	3. Arrival

2 months later  
  
"Look at her, isn't she gorgeous." Said Phoebe lovingly as she saw her niece being placed into Piper's arms.  
  
"Can you believe it honey, this little baby was made by us?" Leo said to Piper  
  
"So, when does she come home!?!?" Paige asked excitedly  
  
"Tomorrow morning." Piper said  
  
"Excuse me, but visiting hours are over. Could you all please leave." A nurse who was passing by said  
  
"But.we just got here.Melinda just got here." Phoebe said  
  
"The nurse is right believe it or not it's already 10pm," Paige told Phoebe in an attempt to get her to cheer up, "and besides we have to have enough energy since she comes home tomorrow!!"  
  
"Wow! You're right we should go home I mean we do have a lot to get ready before tomorrow." Said Phoebe with a huge smile on her face  
  
* * *  
  
The next day Piper, Leo and Melinda arrived back to the manor at around two o'clock. Once they stepped through the door they were bombarded with gifts, balloons, congratulation cards and two very happy aunts who were very eager to hold their niece.  
  
"Me first!! Me first!!" yelled Phoebe  
  
"Not fair! I want her first!" yelled Paige back  
  
"Guys! Guys! Don't fight over it. She'll be here for a LONG time and you'll all get to hold her when you're not hating her for waking you up early." Piper said in an attempt to quiet them down since it seemed Melinda was finally drifting back to sleep.  
  
"Okay, okay. Since you're younger you can go first," Phoebe said, "but hurry it up!"  
  
Piper placed Melinda in Paige's arms and suddenly Paige felt a strange feeling.  
  
"What is it, honey?" Piper asked concerned  
  
"Nothing, it's just wow! I mean she's so tiny and fragile."  
  
"Okay, well now it's my turn!" yelled Phoebe  
  
* * *  
  
It was 2 o'clock in the morning and Piper awoke to the cry of her daughter. It was only a week since she had arrived home, yet Piper already was getting tired of these early morning wake up calls. Her sisters weren't taking it that great either. In the past week they had been very cranky and were always in search for a couple minutes of snooze time while at work or hanging out at home. Yet, Piper had to admit she hadn't been this happy in all her life. She had everything she ever wanted. Her family was in great health and she was now a mother and understood why everyone had always told her that it was such a great blessing. As she approached the crib she found that Melinda suddenly began to quiet down. It was almost as if she knew that her mom was coming and that now she would get whatever she wanted.  
  
"Hey baby girl." Piper whispered  
  
"Hey Piper." Said Phoebe as she peeked her head through the door with a tired look on her face.  
  
"What are you doing up?" Piper asked curiously.  
  
"Well, I was going to give you and Leo a break and take Melinda to the kitchen myself to get her, her bottle. I have it here."  
  
"Thanks, but since I'm up I might as well just do it thanks anyway Pheebs next time she gets up I'll make sure to let you take her."  
  
"No problem it's my pleasure , but Piper can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure, what is it?"  
  
"Well, see I was just thinking about those dreams you had before Melinda was born, did they ever come back?"  
  
"No, why?"  
  
"Well, I don't know. I just kind of. I don't know, it was just beginning to worry me again since Melinda was now here."  
  
"Oh don't worry Phoebe everything's fine. We're all fine. Now go back to bed you look exhausted."  
  
"Okay, good night guys."  
  
"Good night." Piper said as she watched her sister walk out of the room. She was now over come with a great worry since Phoebe had just reminded her of those dreams that she hadn't experienced or thought about for at least a good month and a half. She now began to wonder if with Melinda actually alive if something would happen.  
  
What she hadn't noticed was that while she fed Melinda a strange looking lamp positioned itself close to Melinda's crib. 


	4. Gone

2 Days Later  
  
The Halliwell house was quiet and everyone was taking this rare opportunity to do their own things. Phoebe was upstairs enjoying some time with Cole, Paige was in her room painting, Piper was in the kitchen making dinner and Leo was snoozing on the couch with Melinda sleeping on his chest. Everything seemed to be going great, they hadn't been attacked in weeks and were overjoyed. You would expect everyone to be clam and relaxed, well that was not the case.  
  
Paige sat in her room painting a picture of unicorns and fairies to put in Melinda's room. As she reached over to grab the glitter she felt a chill. At first she couldn't understand what it was and for a while she dismissed it as the air conditioning until she realized that the chill seemed to be coming in the form of wind and was gently brushing against her face. Then realizing that this was no explainable matter she quickly called for Phoebe and Piper who immediately ran in.  
  
"What? What is it?" Phoebe asked apparently annoyed that she was pulled away from Cole  
  
"I felt a chill."  
  
"A chill? Paige are you sure it's not just the air conditioning? I mean you are wearing shorts and a tank top." Piper said  
  
"No Piper I'm positive. It was that same creepy feeling I got at Fin's house. That not so great feeling."  
  
"But would you get that feeling from a room? I mean the last time you got it, it was a house, not a room." Phoebe said  
  
"Phoebe I'm positive! Do you remember what happened the last couple times you guys didn't trust me?"  
  
"Okay. Okay. So what do you suppose we do?" Piper asked  
  
"Maybe Leo should ask the Elders." Paige suggested  
  
"But Leo just got back from there. He's been there all week and I want to spend time with my husband!" Piper complained now fed up that Paige had to ruin this perfect day with her chill that for all they knew was nothing at all.  
  
"Piper! Someone could be in danger! I think this is a pressing matter." Paige complained "Fine! Fine! Leo! Leo!" Piper yelled  
  
Suddenly they saw the familiar blue lights and saw Leo appear, hair ruffled, rings under his eyes and Melinda crying on his shoulder.  
  
"What? What happened?" Leo tiredly said  
  
"Paige says." Phoebe began  
  
"What?" Leo yelled trying to hear over Melinda's screams  
  
"Here Leo let me help." Piper said as she took Melinda from Leo's arms and began to rock her. When she still didn't settle down Piper took her to her room and put her in her crib with the mobile playing a soft gentle lullaby. Once she was asleep Piper made her way back to Paige's room where Phoebe was just finishing explaining their current situation.  
  
"So you see we didn't know what to do? We thought you could talk to the Elders."  
  
"Shouldn't you just wait until something happens? Maybe you could get a premonition by touching items in Paige's room." Said Cole who had entered while Piper was gone  
  
"I could try but you know I can't willingly get a premonition, not to mention if we wait it may be too late."  
  
"So what do we do?" Piper asked  
  
"I'll go talk to the Elders." Leo said  
  
As he was orbing out a cry was heard. Leo suddenly orbed back worried.  
  
"What was that?" Leo asked  
  
Everyone looked at each other with confused faces. When they realized that none of them had done it Piper screamed.  
  
"MELINDA!"  
  
Piper began to run towards Melinda's room, tears streaming down her face, horrible thoughts flashing through her mind. She heard Leo, Phoebe, Cole and Paige calling after her, but she didn't stop. She had to make sure her baby was okay. When she entered the room everything seemed okay, but Piper knew it wasn't. She slowly walked closer and closer to the crib until she was close enough to look inside and when she did she let out a shriek and slowly sank to the floor, shaking and sobbing. Leo and Phoebe went to her while Cole and Paige looked in the crib. When they looked in they found.nothing. Not a note, blanket, a stain, nothing. They suddenly felt horrible for Piper and Leo who were crying in each others arms. How horrible it must be to know that your child was in danger and you had no idea who or what took her. The sorrow that filled the room was enough to have weakened the heart of any man. Everyone was filled with guilt, sorrow and confusion. The only thing left to do was to leave Piper and Leo alone for a while. So Paige, Phoebe and Cole left to the attic leaving them alone.  
  
"It was all.my.fault...I should have.kept her in the.room with us..then she'd..she'd." Piper said in between sobs  
  
"It's going to be okay Piper.we.we will find the bastard who did this!" Leo yelled  
  
"But who? Who did this?"  
  
"The Source."  
  
"The Source? But why? Isn't it too late to change Melinda?" Piper asked  
  
"Maybe he found a way. He has done it in the past."  
  
"Oh Leo, she's so little. She doesn't know anything! She's more innocent then the innocents we help everyday! She has to be so scared! All alone in that dark cold place with that horrible man!" Piper yelled  
  
"Shh. Shh. Shh. It's going to be okay Piper, but we have to help the others first. Do you think you can do that or do you need to wait a little longer?"  
  
"I'm not ready, but I have to. It'll be harder for me to think about her being there then if I'm doing something about it."  
  
"Okay. Come on they're in the attic."  
  
Leo stood up first and reached out for Piper's hand. She quickly took it and gave it a firm squeeze, so that she could reassure Leo that she was going to be able to do it as long as he was there for her.  
  
When they got to the attic they found Cole and Phoebe on the couch while Paige was looking at the Book of Shadows. When they heard Piper and Leo come in they became quiet, afraid of what to say.  
  
"It's okay guys." Piper said  
  
"You sure?" Phoebe asked concerned  
  
All Piper had to do was give Phoebe one glance for her to know that it was okay to continue.  
  
"So what have you found?" Leo asked  
  
"Not much. I mean the only thing we have to go on is that chill I felt a few minutes before Melinda was taken." Paige said  
  
"Could it be an invisible demon?" Phoebe asked  
  
"It's possible. I'll go look around." Cole said  
  
"Okay, but be careful." Phoebe said as she kissed Cole  
  
Right before Cole shimmered out Leo yelled.  
  
"Cole! Wait! Maybe I should go with you so I can try to sense her."  
  
"Well it's worth a try." Paige said  
  
"Okay. Follow me." Cole said as he shimmered out followed by Leo who quickly orbed out 


	5. Hard Times

Underworld  
  
"Do you have her?" a deep evil voice asked  
  
"Here she is sir." Another voice responded while it moved a small infant wrapped in a pink blanket towards the light  
  
"You have served me well. Your bounty is waiting for you outside."  
  
"I will not leave until I have my bounty!"  
  
"Then you shall wait, a long time for I will not give you anything!" and with that he threw a fire ball at the bounty hunter. The pink bundle quickly fell to the floor and began to wail.  
  
"Ahh! Could someone please get rid of that horrid sound!"  
  
"Come Sir!" said a petite young woman dressed in a loose black dress, her face was filled with sadness. When she took the baby she quickly grew happy and began to gently rock the baby.  
  
"Take her away! Leave her in the cage! And please shut her up!"  
  
The young woman quickly departed. She took the child to a dark room lit only by a few candles laid randomly about. The small child was still crying and now even began to shake with each loud sob. The sound of flem coming up was heard and she coughed vigorously. The woman placed her in a crib and then walked away, leaving the baby alone in the dark room.  
  
At the same time Leo and Cole were frantically searching for a location where Melinda could be. So far they had turned up with nothing. Leo had tried sensing Melinda but had no luck.  
  
"Maybe you should try again Leo."  
  
"Cole I told you the Source must have put a magical block on the perimeter, just incase we attempted to go looking for her."  
  
"Well I would have done what I did when Piper was lost in the Underworld, but I'm no longer wanted so they will not be looking for me. Not to mention, I think the Source learned what we were capable of last time."  
  
"So what do we do?" Cole asked frustrated  
  
"We keep looking and hope that the girls are having more luck than we are."  
  
In The Manor  
  
All day long the girls had been looking for any possible way of finding Melinda. It was now way past three 'o clock in the morning and the sisters were giving up quickly.  
  
"How about we contact the police? Maybe she was kidnapped by a mortal." Phoebe suggested  
  
"Phoebe, Paige felt a chill and all the windows and doors were locked." Piper said irritably  
  
"Then what are we supposed to do?" asked Phoebe  
  
"How about we go to bed and try tomorrow morning? Then we'll all be refreshed and will be able to think more clearly." Paige suggested  
  
"Okay, I agree lets go." Phoebe said  
  
So they made their way downstairs. Once Piper was in her room the events of the day took a huge toll on her. She changed into one of Leo's flannel shirts so that she'd have him close to her no matter where he was. Then she made her way to bed, but before she got there she was filled with emotions and she quickly fell to the floor. She sobbed uncontrollably fro hours until her sadness turned to rage and she began to throw things. Throw pillows, frames, clothes, anything she could get her hands on. In one moment of her rage she picked up a picture of Melinda, Leo and herself and threw it against the mirror causing the mirror to shatter into a million pieces. The loud sound it made vibrated through the halls of the Manor, quickly waking Phoebe and Paige. When they entered Piper's room they found her crouched over the broken glass sobbing uncontrollably while throwing her fists in the air in anger. She frantically searched for the picture and when she found it she threw it at her sisters, who watched her shocked and scared, unable to help her for they didn't know how best to approach her.  
  
"This! This was the family I had! Now.now I have nothing! My daughter is who knows where and my husband is out there somewhere looking for her! I have no one! NO ONE!" Piper screamed out  
  
Phoebe could no longer stand it, she had to comfort Piper. She ran to her and held her in a tight hug as Piper tried to fight her.  
  
"Piper you have us. We're here for you." Phoebe said  
  
"You know that if you needed to talk to anyone you could always come to us." Paige said  
  
"I just.I don't." Piper began before she was at a loss of words  
  
"Come Piper how about I get that glass out of your hands and then we'll go to my room and you can talk to us." Phoebe said as she led Piper towards the bathroom while motioning to Paige to begin cleaning the glass that was scattered throughout the room 


	6. Death

Underworld  
  
"Are you happy with your present my dear?"  
  
"It's wonderful! She's going to grow up to be very powerful! When's the ceremony?"  
  
"Tomorrow."  
  
"So the girl will be evil? Forever?" Sage asked  
  
"Yes forever." Responded the Source  
  
* * *  
  
The following day Sage woke early excited that today would be the day her daughter would be brought into dark magic. She had been miserably disappointed when the doctors had informed her that she could not bare children. Then her husband, Luther, otherwise known as the Source, presented her with a beautiful baby girl which they had decided to call Samantha. At first Sage had been a little upset that she had taken this child from someone else until she realized that she wanted this baby and would do anything to keep her. She also remembered that Samantha would forget almost anything about her previous family. That was unless she ever encountered one of them which Sage made sure she would never let happen. Suddenly she heard her husband's voice beckoning her.  
  
"Sage, let's go. The ceremony starts in ten minutes."  
  
"Coming dear!" she yelled as she put Samantha in her arms  
  
Sage and Luther walked hand in hand with Samantha in Sage's arms. The ceremony was very similar to a corination. The dark priest made Samantha's parents say an oath and then he cut both their fingers, letting their blood drip into a bowl that contained a scorpion and put the blood on Samantha's head. Once he was done Luther picked her up and raised her above the crowd who cheered loudly. It was then complete, Melinda was now Samantha the daughter of the King and Queen of the Underworld. She would never again see her mother and father or her two aunts.  
  
At the Manor  
  
All were gathered around the kitchen table. They each were in their own world thinking about that previous day. Just as Phoebe reached across the table for the bread she heard a shriek. It was Piper.  
  
"Piper, honey what is it?" Leo asked  
  
"Melinda! She's gone."  
  
"Yes we know she's gone. Do you know where she is?"  
  
"No, I mean dead."  
  
"Dead? How do you know?"  
  
"Leo I can feel it. They've killed my daughter!"  
  
"Well I don't care how much you think so I am still going to keep looking." Leo responded  
  
"Leo! It's no use! You'll just set yourself up for disappointment!" Piper yelled  
  
"Well, I just need faith right now so that it'll keep me sane. If she is dead, I want to know because I found her not because I have a 'feeling'."  
  
And with that Leo orbed away.  
  
"You guys believe me right? I mean come on why would I lie about something like this! I love Melinda!" Piper cried hoping someone would believe her and comfort her  
  
Everyone was at a loss of words. They didn't want to believe that Melinda had died. It was just too sad a thought. They couldn't imagine never hearing her cry again and then getting the great satisfaction of comforting her. Or never getting to hear her first words, see her take her first steps or accompany her to kindergarten. With everyone upset Piper ran out of the kitchen and quickly departed to her room where she stayed for days. 


	7. Discovery

It had been five years since Melinda's disappearance. At first things had been hard, but slowly the wounds began to close. Phoebe and Cole were now married and Paige had a steady boyfriend. All seemed well for the Halliwell family, that is except for Piper and Leo. They spent nights dreaming of the little girl they'd never get to see grow up and they were too frightened to try and conceive again. Then one day their wish for a little girl came true.  
  
Paige was in her car driving up Elmer Blvd and drumming her hands on the stirring wheel in rhythm with the music. She was stuck in traffic and was trying to keep herself occupied by looking at the scenery when she saw it.  
  
There was a house on the corner of the street and it appeared from Paige's location that chaos was occurring inside. She saw a woman, in about her thirties wrestling what appeared to be a large beast. When Paige caught a glimpse of it she quickly phoned her sisters.  
  
"Piper! I need you to get to the corner of Elmer Blvd as fast as you can. There seems to be an innocent that needs saving!"  
  
In moments Piper and Phoebe were out the door and on their way. Because they had to frequently run to demon sighting Piper knew all the back routes and arrived at Elmer Blvd in record time. When she saw the traffic jam she quickly pulled over and hopped out of the car with Phoebe following her. As they got to the corner they saw Paige from the window attempting to smash a lamp over a large beasts head. Minutes later they were in the house and had injured the beast enough that they could recite a spell. It wasn't a very good one but it worked and the demon soon vanished into thin air leaving the living room of the house looking as though a hurricane had struck. Paige soon went looking for the young woman she saw previously trying to fight the demon, but when she found her she was upset to see that the girl had not survived.  
  
"She didn't make it. He killed her." Paige said  
  
"It's so sad when we aren't there on time. She didn't deserve it." Phoebe said  
  
"Do you think anyone saw? I mean if you saw it Paige then what's to say another driver didn't?" Piper asked  
  
"I don't.." Paige began before she heard it "Did you hear that?"  
  
"What?" Phoebe asked "It sounds like someone's crying."  
  
"There!" Piper said pointing towards a corner in the room  
  
When Paige and Phoebe looked over they found a little baby no younger than a year huddled in the corner crying.  
  
"A baby! Do you think it was hers?" Paige asked  
  
"It looks to me like she was." Piper said as she picked up the little girl who looked identical to the woman that lay motionless on the ground.  
  
"So what do we do? Wait for the cops to find her?" Phoebe asked  
  
"How about we take her to stay at the Manor for awhile and I'll do some research at work to see if she has a father, if not then I'll take her to the orphanage." Paige said  
  
And with that they took the little girl to their house.  
  
It had been well over a month since they had found the baby in the house. Paige had tried and tried to find her father, but came up empty handed. She had made up her mind at work that day that she was going to bring her to the orphanage tomorrow, her only problem was breaking the news to Piper, who had become the little girl's adopted mother for the month she had stayed at the Manor. Leo had taken all the baby furniture, that they had used for Melinda, out of the garage and put it back upstairs. Piper and Leo had already named her Melinda and were crazy in love with the little girl.  
  
* * *  
  
Piper sat in a rocking chair singing a lullaby to the baby she had in her arms. The little girl had on her pacifier and was nuzzling close to Piper, her eye lids slowly growing heavy. Soon she was fast asleep and Piper placed her in a beautiful wooden crib and departed the room.  
  
When Piper got to the kitchen she found Phoebe and Paige sitting at the table engaged in a conversation.  
  
"I need to tell her."  
  
"Yeah, but you know she'll be heart broken."  
  
"There's nothing I can do about that. I just hope they don't take it too bad, then I'd really feel terrible. I talked to my boss about it and he says that's the best decision. It's either this or they have to arrest them and send someone to get her. That'd be worse."  
  
"Hey guys what are you talking about? Who's leaving?" Piper asked "Umm.no one." Paige said quickly  
  
"Paige, there's no time, tell her."  
  
"Tell me what? Come on guys what's up?"  
  
"Umm.I don't really know how to put this but."  
  
"But what?!?!? PAIGE!!!"  
  
"I have to take Melinda with me."  
  
"What?!?!? You have to be kidding."  
  
"No. She's not legally yours and Leo's so she has to go to the orphanage."  
  
"No! No! I won't let you take her and neither will Leo. You can get us custody of her can't you?"  
  
"I could try but we'd need Darryl's help. Not to mention we'd have to give her father a window of about two months to reclaim her."  
  
"Can she stay with us those two months? Please! That's all I ask."  
  
"That's really not my decision. I'm sorry Piper."  
  
"Well I'm going to talk to Leo about this!!!" Piper said and then she stormed out to her bedroom where she began to call for Leo. Minutes later he orbed in.  
  
"What? What is it? Are you okay? Is Melinda okay?"  
  
"Paige told me that we have to give Melinda up to Child Services!!"  
  
"What?"  
  
And with that Piper began to explain to Leo their situation and why they could no longer keep Melinda. Leo agreed that they should go to court and try to win custody and he tried many times to get Piper to see that they had to let Melinda go for a little while, but Piper just wasn't buying it.  
  
"No Leo! I won't! She'll be in that horrible place with all those other homeless kids! What if she doesn't remember us when she comes back? I mean she's already so used to us! She just called me Mama the other day! That means she thinks I'm her Mom. I need to be there for her. I just can't leave her! I won't! So there."  
  
"Piper I understand that you're upset, but if you try to keep her we'll have less of a chance of winning custody. Let's just talk to Darryl and then we can go to court."  
  
"Okay, but you better be right because if you're not."  
  
* * *  
  
The next day was a horrible day for everyone. Early that morning Child Services arrived and took Melinda. Piper cried uncontrollably for she felt she'd again lost her precious Melinda, but Leo continued to reassure her that it was only temporary and that soon Melinda would once again be theirs.  
  
  
  
Hey guys! I'll try to get the other chapter, The Courtroom out by this week. Hope you like it so far!! 


	8. Courtroom

The next two months were hard on everyone. Piper did plenty of research on child custody cases and made sure to visit Melinda at least once a week. Leo spent endless nights at the Police Station with Darryl, Paige worked hard on putting the case together and Phoebe and Cole went looking for a perfect lawyer to represent them. Everyone wanted to see little Melinda with Piper and Leo and their actions were enough to tell anyone that they were behind them one hundred percent. Finally on August 4th, Melinda's second birthday Piper and Leo were ready to take on the court.  
  
When they arrived at the courtroom that afternoon they were astonished to see how lengthy the custody cases were. First the lawyers had a moment to make an opening statement and then the testimonies began. Everyone was there to lend support, from fellow whitelighters to workers at P3 and even Victor was called to the stand. It appeared that everything was going well and then the judge called a short recess.  
  
"It seems we're doing quite well Mr. and Mrs. Wyatt," Mark, their lawyer informed them, "this process should be over soon the judge just has to review the facts and then he'll make his final decision."  
  
"So you're confident that we'll win?" Piper asked nervously  
  
"It looks good at this point. Now we should just go back to the courtroom and wait till the judge comes back."  
  
So Mark, Piper, Leo and the gang made their way back into the courtroom to wait. As they were sitting talking to one another they saw smoke appearing. Out of instinct Piper, Paige and Phoebe began to look around. What they saw was the judge, attorney, lawyers, police and the rest of the people in the court house turn into horrible creatures and a cloud of smoke transform into a slender woman with long dark hair.  
  
"Okay guys what should we do? How about we take out Morticia and then her friends." Phoebe whispered  
  
"Good idea." Piper and Paige said And with that they began to kill every evil thing that was present in the courtroom. Phoebe used her kick boxing skills while Paige threw things and Piper blew things up. Cole also helped by throwing energy balls. When they all had a moment to breath they huddled in the corner to discuss their next plan of action.  
  
"Okay so what do we do about "Morticia"?"  
  
"She's the Queen." Cole said  
  
"What? Wait you mean like Queen of the Underworld?"  
  
"Yeah. You can only kill her by using a spell, although I can try to weaken her with the energy balls."  
  
"Okay you do that and then we'll hit her with the spell we used to vanquish the last source." Paige said  
  
Cole began by throwing energy balls. She staggered a bit but it didn't do too much to weaken her it just caused her to get angry. She was just about to hit Cole with a fireball when Piper, Phoebe and Paige began to recite the spell.  
  
Prudence, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda  
  
Ashley, Ellen, Laura and Grace Halliwell witches stand strong beside us Vanquish this evil from time and space  
  
And with that she was vanquished.  
  
Due to the fact that there was no one left to give them a verdict Piper and Leo took it upon themselves to sign adoption papers and lie to the state, saying that Judge Jones had granted them full custody of Melinda. 


	9. Answers

Five year old Melinda Halliwell sat on her bed drawing a picture when she heard a loud sound come from the hallway. She quietly made her way outside and saw her Mom and two aunts fighting a demon.  
  
"Oh now's my chance to fight." Melinda said under her breath as she made her way over to where her Mom was fighting  
  
Once she was close enough she ran towards him kicking and punching.  
  
"Melly! What are you doing?" Piper asked just as Melinda tried to kick the demon again  
  
By this time the demon had grow angry and lunged Melinda in the air, her small body hitting violently against the hard wooden floor. Piper quickly called for Leo and sometime between Leo's appearance and Melinda being healed Piper, Paige and Phoebe successfully vanquished the demon. Once the demon was gone they all quickly turned to Melinda who was just coming to.  
  
"Mommy." she softly said  
  
"Oh Melly! Don't you ever do that again! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Piper said as she ran and embraced her daughter in a hug  
  
"But I was just trying to help."  
  
"Well you're too tiny to help."  
  
"No I'm not! I'm a big girl and I want to help you fight the big scary monsters too!" Melinda yelled, trying to hold back her tears of frustration  
  
"Honey, you can't protect yourself like Mommy and Auntie Paige and Phoebe can." Leo said  
  
"Why not? Why don't I have powers like you guys? Why am I different?"  
  
"Well.umm.Leo.." Piper began  
  
"Because you were born to be our special mortal."  
  
"Information Seeker!" Phoebe said jumping in  
  
"Yeah you see your job is to let us know if anyone is in danger or if there's a demon around." Paige said  
  
"Oh. So that's why I don't have powers." Melinda said, still to young to realize her family was lying in order to keep her away from danger  
  
"Yep. Now why don't you and Daddy go play for a while, while we go see what that scary monster was." Piper said  
  
"Oh but can't I go too. I want to help! PLEASE!" she begged with her famous puppy dog face that she knew always got her what she wanted  
  
"Okay. Okay, but you better behave!"  
  
Underworld  
  
A young slender girl around the age of thirteen or fourteen sat in bed reading a large book. She flipped through the pages violently, as if she were in search of something. Finally she found what she was looking for and began to read. She got so caught up in the book that she never realized a large man dressed in a long dark robe enter the room. He stood by the door frame watching her, not uttering a word. The girl suddenly felt a presence and looked up to find the man in the shadows near the window.  
  
"Dad! Come in!" she said as she ushered him inside  
  
"I see you were reading. What was it you were so involved in?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"It had to have been something! Now what was it!" the man said growing angry  
  
The girl fearing her father's tone quickly responded, "The Book of Magic."  
  
"The Book of Magic?!?! You know that book only specializes in powerful witches. Who was it you were looking up?"  
  
"The evil witches that killed Mom! The Charmed Ones!"  
  
"The Charmed Ones huh? What were you planning to do once you got information of them." Luther said after rejoicing that his daughter was following in his footsteps  
  
"I want them dead!"  
  
"And you have a plan as to how to do this?"  
  
"Oh yes. It's very simple."  
  
"It's simple is it. So what do you plan to do?"  
  
"Take the one thing they hold dear." 


	10. Encounter

Everyone was gathered upstairs in the attic. Piper, Phoebe and Paige were by the book, flipping threw the pages hoping to find the demon they had just vanquished. Leo sat on the couch enjoying some free time and Melinda was in the corner playing with her Mommy's old doll house. They seemed to have vanquished the last demon of the day and were getting ready to go downstairs and have a nice family meal when they heard a door slam close.  
  
"What was that?" Paige asked "I think it was a door." Phoebe responded  
  
"Downstairs?" Leo asked  
  
"Sounded like it." Piper said  
  
Another loud bang was heard.  
  
"Another one, come on girls let's go." Paige ushered  
  
"Leo you stay here with Mel."  
  
"Will do Piper, but be careful."  
  
And with that they made their way downstairs in search of the cause of the sound. Many times between their arrival to the bedrooms they heard it. Finally they had checked all the rooms except Melinda's. They slowly crept towards the door and swung it open. What they found was a young girl who had long dark hair searching through the dresser. When she heard Piper, Paige and Phoebe she spun around and threw an energy ball at them, the energy ball hit Phoebe and caused her to go back a step or few, but caused no major damage, which surprised everyone, except the young girl. Before the girls had a chance to ask her who she was or what she was doing in their house she grabbed Melinda's beloved teddy bear and orbed away.  
  
"Okay was it just me or did she just orb?" Phoebe asked  
  
"No she orbed alright." Paige responded  
  
"And that energy ball of hers was lame. It didn't do anything except falter my step a bit. Besides that though it was harmless, it didn't even leave a burn."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Something is definitely weird about that girl. She looked familiar too, it was like I was connected to her in some way. Oh and another thing what did she want with Melinda's teddy, what was she in need of a cuddle little animal?" Paige said  
  
Suddenly Paige and Phoebe realized that Piper had not said a single weird about the weird encounter they had just had with this girl.  
  
"Piper! Hello! Did you not find something weird about this?" Phoebe asked her  
  
"Guys.I don't know why, but I'm almost certain that was Melinda."  
  
"No honey. Melinda's five years old and she's upstairs with Leo. Not to mention she has no powers."  
  
"No! Not adopted Melinda, but the real Melinda. The one who.died."  
  
"No way! Melinda from like 9 years ago! Come on we found out she was dead remember? She never showed up even years later." Paige said  
  
"We only thought she was dead though we never had any real proof." Phoebe commented now realizing that Piper might be onto something, "She orbed and everything. She probably doesn't know of whitelighters so she just thinks she a "Super" demon when in fact she's part whitelighter."  
  
"You think?" Paige said, now also realizing that both Piper and Phoebe were correct, not to mention it seemed to be the most logical explanation  
  
"Okay so let's summon her back. Find out what she wants. Why she's come back after all these years!" Piper said excitedly as she ran up the stairs to the attic. In her fit of happiness she forgot all about her other Melinda, the one who still didn't know she was adopted or that she had a long lost sister. So when Piper came into the room screaming and talking about Melinda coming back five year old Melinda grew very confused and began asking many questions.  
  
"Melinda? You mean me Mommy? I'm back? Back from where? Mommy? Answer me!" she yelled frustrated  
  
"Melly, honey how about you go play with your dolls while I go talk to Mommy." Leo said  
  
"No way Daddy! I want to know what Mommy's talking about."  
  
"She's back Leo! She was in." at that moment Piper remembered the other Melinda "Oh sweety Mommy is so sorry. She just got excited for a minute. How about you go downstairs to the bathroom. I'll be down in a minute to help you take a bath."  
  
"But." she began until she saw Leo's serious 'better listen to your mother' face and quickly grunted before exiting the attic  
  
"Okay so Piper now that she's gone what do you mean? Melinda our big Melinda? She's back? Why? What was she doing? Does she look good? Healthy?"  
  
"Okay you guys have got to calm down. How about you go spend some time with your other daughter, you know the one who didn't abandon you and leave you worried for 9 years. She's a bit frightened of your behavior and before we get ourselves into an even tighter jam I'd suggest you talk to her." Phoebe said attempting to calm the situation down a bit  
  
"Okay we're off, but let us know if you find anything." They said as they went downstairs * * *  
  
"So you see honey before you came along we used to have another little girl named Melinda who left us."  
  
"Another Melinda? Before me? I thought I was the only one."  
  
"You are the only one now, but very soon there may be two of you."  
  
"Okay, I think. I don't know. Mommy, Daddy, you guys are really hurting my head." She said as she rubbed her temples  
  
"That's okay you don't have to understand it all. Now come on let's get you tucked in, you have school tomorrow." Leo said as he lifted her up and placed her in her bed  
  
Both Piper and Leo went over to her bed and planted a kiss of her head.  
  
"Sleep tight Princess. Good night."  
  
"Good night Mommy. Good night Daddy."  
  
Piper and Leo slowly left the room, making sure to turn off the light and leave the door and little opened. Once they entered their bedroom Piper went over to the bed and sighed.  
  
"Do you think she's okay with it? She seemed a little upset."  
  
"Which is very likely Piper. She's never had a sister before, that alone sends people's nerves on end, but knowing that she's older and had your name, that makes it even worse. Besides you know exactly what it's like to suddenly have long lost sister."  
  
Leo of course was talking about Paige, Piper and Phoebe's half sister. Piper remembered the first time she found out about Paige, her deceased mother and grandmother told her. She was totally shocked and could not believe it, let alone that that exact day she had been at the funeral of her oldest sister, Prue. She had loved Prue and thought that she could never have another take her place, but it only took a couple of weeks for Piper to fully open her heart to Paige and see that just because she came late didn't mean she couldn't still be a great new addition. Now all Piper hoped was that both her daughters were willing to except each other. Older Melinda to except a younger adopted Melinda, who Piper and Leo had adopted for the soul purpose of replacing the empty hole they still felt over Melinda. And younger Melinda, that she would except her older sister who she'd never met before. She knew it was going to be a difficult process, but she just hoped that her precious treasures were willing to make the sacrifice. And with all this in mind Piper drifted off into a very uneasy sleep.  
  
Underworld  
  
"I need your help Dad." Samantha said to Luther  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
"I need you to release the Hollow."  
  
"The Hollow? When the last source did that he almost wiped away all magic. We spent months trying to regain the kingdom we now have."  
  
"But how am I supposed to weaken them? As long as they have their powers they will have the upper hand."  
  
"I can't do that. As much as I love you Samantha, I will never release the Hollow, it will destroy what we have, it will do more harm then you can even imagine."  
  
"Then what Dad? What are we supposed to do?"  
  
"We send something a to make their powers weak and hard to manage."  
  
"And that is?" Samantha asked  
  
"The Eclipsess."  
  
"The what?"  
  
"The Eclipsess, the most powerful of all demons. She has the power to weaken the Charmed Ones powers."  
  
"Then she'll be the one we have do it and then I need you help to kill them. I would do it myself, but we know I am nowhere near that powerful, but you are and I know you want them dead just as much as I do."  
  
"That is true. I've wanted them dead even before your mother was killed. I will help you. What time do we attack?"  
  
"Now." 


	11. Reunion

It was a sunny afternoon and the Manor was busy with activity. Phoebe and Paige were upstairs searching for a way to summon the girl they believed to be older Melinda, Piper was in the kitchen baking cookies with younger Melinda, Cole was training downstairs in the basement and Leo was with another one of his charges. Suddenly as Piper was going to make her way over to the oven to check on the cookies a bright light filled the room and a woman appeared in front of her. Piper was just about to blow her up when she felt a sudden pull, it was as if she were slowing down and losing energy. Then the woman disappeared and Piper heard Phoebe and Paige in the attic, apparently this woman had attacked them too.  
  
It took Piper 10 minutes to get to the attic and leave Melinda in her room. For some reason she could not move any faster. And when she entered the attic she found that Paige and Phoebe were also taking everything slowly. They attempted to try and locate the woman who had made them so weak, but as they began their search they saw bright blue lights and a large cloud of smoke, seconds later the young girl who they believed to be Melinda and the Source stood in front of her.  
  
"I'm back! Have you missed me?" the Source said sarcastically  
  
"Go to hell." Paige sputtered out  
  
"Oh well actually."  
  
"Dad! There's no time to have a friendly conversation! Let's just get to it." Samantha said  
  
"Did you just say Dad?" Phoebe asked disgusted, how could such a purely evil man be allowed to care for a child  
  
"Yes. She did. Samantha I'd like you to meet the Charmed Ones." The Source said casually  
  
"DAD!" Samantha yelled irritated and with that she threw one of her weak energy balls at Piper, which with the lack of energy she had knocked her to the ground  
  
"Now Dad now!" Sam yelled  
  
Just as the Source was ready to finish Piper off with one of his fireballs Piper spoke.  
  
"Those eyes.I'll never forget them. They were always so pure, honest. I know who you are Samantha.you're my little girl. I'm your mother!!!"  
  
"What?!?" Samantha yelled, "You're my what?"  
  
"Your mother and the Source is not your father, my husband Leo is."  
  
"Oh she's lying to you. She just wants you to spare her life." The Source yelled, now having forgotten about the fireball he was about to throw  
  
"Now please Melinda..I mean Samantha..please, please help me! Don't let your "adopted" father kill me!"  
  
"Luther! Stop!" Samantha yelled  
  
"What?" he asked baffled  
  
"I said stop! I already lost one mother, I don't care to lose another."  
  
"But she's not your mother!"  
  
"Yes she is, I can sense it. The love that she's got for me is enormous. She wouldn't feel that way unless there was a reason."  
  
"You're a brat, that's what you are," Luther yelled, "and now along with your mother and aunts you shall die!"  
  
"Samantha come here! Come with us! We can stop him!" Phoebe yelled  
  
"But how? He's the most powerful being in the Underworld."  
  
"We've done it many times, we're pros." Paige said  
  
And with that Paige, Piper and Phoebe stood, each holding each others hands. Piper reached over and grabbed Samantha's hand cautiously, afraid that she might not except it, but she did and gratefully too. Together they chanted.  
  
Banish him Banish him With the power of four Let him leave us for sure  
  
The moment the last word was spoken the Source let out a loud scream and vanished into a million pieces. No one knows what happened to him, but they guess he left and went to the wasteland, where his body would soon decay.  
  
* * *  
  
It had been two weeks since Samantha had joined the Halliwell/Wyatt clang. She was trying to adjust, but it was clear that she struggled. Melinda and Samantha still don't get along and Piper hopes that soon things will work out between the two of them, but she's not going to force them. As for everyone else, well their all happy to see the Wyatt family complete.  
  
Hey guys! Hope you liked this story. By the way, do you think I should make a sequel to this? One that shows how Samantha is adjusting? Let me know. 


End file.
